And I love soda. But I don’t drink the diet sodas anymore. They all make me feel sick. Instead, I just limit myself to one regular soda a day. it’s not always easy, but I can usually do it.

If you do there is a great Food Brand called Eating Well.

This Eating Well “brand” is in all the areas of the store. You just look for the white and green box.

The frozen dinner meals are very low in fats and carbs (nothing more than 400 cals a dinner). The food is actually pretty good.

Foods you can gorge on with no calories.

1. Romaine lettuce (Eating Well has a no calorie Vinaigrette salad spritzer spray)
2. Celery – takes more cals to break down celery than what you take in
3. Asparagus – Very low in calories. Get the zero cal “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” spray
4. Any dark leafy greens (Spinage, Romain Lettuce,
5. Corn – Use the butter spray here, good as the real thing
6. Broccoli – get some low fat ranch
7. Carrots & Hummus (a personal favorite)
8. Non Fat Cottage Cheese (gorging to moderation)

And I also found a different artificial sweetener called Truvia. This is the only artificial sweetener that I could stand. It is a natural byproduct from the Stevia plant. All natural. It doesn’t taste like sugar. It just makes whatever eating taste sweet. Give it a try.

Eric you were correct..it’s all about fiber. All foods listed above are ruff-age. Intestines love to digest ruff-age. It helps absorption. lt also makes you full and satisfied.

Choose high multi grain breads. Wheat Pita bread contains very little fat or carbs.

And lastly…Soy If you want to go the vegetarian route you can eat more because soy is pretty much fat free and all protein.

I have gone the vegetarian route. I am eating a Mediterranean diet. To date I have lost 30 pounds. Eating vegetarian is a commitment. And you have to do the right way (low fat, low carb foods) if you want to lose any significant weight. Just because you are a vegetarian you still can gain weight.

Keep going Matt and Eric….

Everyday will start to get a little easier.

I’ve known you since you lived with your grandma, so to think that you woke up one day to find yourself becoming her just made my head spin. I’m glad you saw the signs. (God rest her soul.)

There is no reason to suffer with heartburn. Prilosec OTC is a miracle drug. Just take it once a day and you will never feel bad again. Get the generic version.

I have the same problem with eating at night. I find myself eating because I’m bored. I made myself a promise that I would only eat fruits and vegetables if I got hungry at night. I miss bread terribly. A lot.

Eric…I hear you when you said you were eating 6000 calories a day. This was my story too. It was insane. I would eat so much and I would get sick and vomit. Then I would have to deal with all the self hatred crap that always came after binge eating.

Matthew….don’t beat yourself up if you slip. Just wake up the next day and start over again. Do not give up. You self confidence will grow every day.

Oh….before I forget….Happy (Belated) Birthday Matt!